INTRODUCED as the undisputed President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Brigadier David Granger, amid loud cheers during PNCR’s 62nd Anniversary Celebrations, challenged the thousands of Guyanese who swarmed Co-op Crescent Public Road in Linden to educate and mould the minds of the nation’s children to become leaders and custodians of the country, its environment and rich resources.
“My brothers and sisters, we need to ensure that the next generation is educated, so that they could take control of this beautiful country,” he charged the large crowd of People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) supporters as they waved their party flag in affirmation.
The current leaders, he made clear, are only the trustees of Guyana, and it is the upcoming generation that will have to take up the mantle as the country continues to realise its potential.
“We have to prepare the next generation to take over from us. We can only ensure that what we pass onto them is more than what we inherited from our parents and fore parents,” the President who is also Leader of the PNCR emphasised.
Cognizant of the important task ahead for the upcoming generations, President Granger said his Government – the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) – has invested heavily in the country’s Education Sector. Since taking office in May, 2015, the Government has injected $170B into the Education Sector with major focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and already hundreds of educational institutions including schools and vocational centers have been digitalized while 9,000 teachers have been recipients of laptops under the One Laptop per Teacher initiative.
A significant portion of the financial resources is being used to bridge the educational gap between the Hinterland and the coast. In 2019 alone, Government allocated $52B to the Education Sector, a significant increase when compared to the $31B in 2018.
Greater plans are in store for the Education Sector, he said. “We will ensure that the education budget continues to grow,” President Granger pledged while underscoring the importance of having every single Guyanese child attend school from nursery to secondary. His Government, he made clear, will settle for nothing less.
To ensure access to schools, the Government, he pointed out, launched the Public Education Transportation Service (PETS) – a project originated out of President Granger’s B’s initiatives. Under PETS, over 4,000 bicycles have been distributed to children right across Guyana. Added to that, a number of boats and buses have been distributed to areas where access to schools has been proven to be difficult, and had resulted in many of the children either walking or paddling miles to reach their classrooms.
“These boats, these buses, and these bicycles, are meant to get children to school, so that they can become ‘A’ students, they can attend school, and they can achieve a high level of attainment in those schools. We will build more schools, so they can get access to schools but every child must be in school,” the PNCR Leader said.
Looking ahead, he said when Oil and Gas production commences in Guyana, and the revenues begin to stream in, his Government, which is confident of a second term in Office come March 2020, will restore the Constitutional provision of free education from nursery to university, giving every Guyanese a chance to acquire higher education.
This massive transformation in the Education Sector, he explained, will take place during the ‘Decade of Development’ which will be launched in 2020. “In this decade, we will give top priority to education. We want a school in every village…even if it is just a nursery school. They must be in a family and familiar setting right there in the village,” he said.
The Decade of Development will focus on education, including hinterland education through improvements in schools’ infrastructure, including accommodation and transportation; investments in better teaching and educational tools – books, educational kits information communications technologies, laboratories, learning resource centres, scholarships and smart classrooms; and increases in the number of schools so that children would not have to travel long distances to attend school.
Chairperson of the PNCR and Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence; Vice President and Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Sydney Allicock; Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams; Minister of Education, Dr. Nicolette Henry; Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Annette Ferguson; Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr. George Nortson; Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Valerie Adams-Yearwood; Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon; Member of Parliament, Jermaine Figueira; Regional Chairman Rennis Morian; Regional Executive Officer, Orin Gordon; and Mayor of Linden, Waneka Arrindell were among the officials present at the grand anniversary celebrations.
